Salt Lake City - A Salt Lake City building that once housed the
first Ford Model T dealership west of the Mississippi River is now the
home of a new seafood restaurant, CURRENT FISH & OYSTER, which
serves up everything from fresh oysters to smoked salmon.

"We thought Salt Lake was ready for a different type of
seafood restaurant," says Trapp. "We wanted to focus on
offering memorable and contemporary dining, and focus on sustainable
seafood and the oyster bar and do something a little bit
different."

Besides the fact that Current Fish & Oyster is one of the few
restaurants along the Wasatch Front serving up fresh seafood, Hillary
Merrill, service manager at Current, says the restaurant's
architecture and ambiance itself is also unique.

"The building was built In 1906, and the facade is the
original facade," she says. "The big doors opening to the
patio are actually where the garage doors from that original business
were. When you take that and what they've done with the arched
windows, skylights and the industrial feel, it's made this perfect
blend of modern and historic."

The building, which was most recently the home of an antique shop,
underwent a $1 million renovation and includes a mezzanine, which will
be available for private dining events, and a state-of-the-art patio.

Merrill says the cuisine ranges from traditional favorites to a
"different twist on seafood dishes." That's why the menu
features popular dishes such as fish and chips or crab cakes, she says,
as well as more distinctive dishes like ricotta cavatelli or smoked clam
dip with house-made potato chips, all created by Executive Chefs Logen
Crew and Jennifer West.

"Food-wise, we're doing a direct-from-fisherman
concept," Merrill says. "All of our seafood is being sourced
very thoughtfully. We're going for small vendors and trying to get
as sustainable of sources as we can. All of the seafood is coming from
the Northwest U.S. Other seafood places in town get their seafood frozen
in bulk, but we get all of ours fresh. You can really taste the
difference in that."

The menu also offers food for non-seafood lovers, such as salads,
flat iron steak and a grass-fed beef burger. Current also boasts a
full-service liquor license, which allows customers to order beer, wine
and cocktails.

Current is the first of three businesses to open in the
development, which Is located along Salt Lake City's 300 South
corridor. Within the next few months, an oyster bar, dubbed The Under
Current Bar, will open next door. It will mirror Current In design and
concept, and will showcase a limited version of the restaurant's
menu, along with oysters and a full bar menu, Merrill says.

The third business planned for the development is a market, which
will be opening on the north end of the building.

"That's a project of [local restaurateur] Eric DeBonis,
and it will be a market similar to Pike Place [in Seattle],"
Merrill says. "It'll be a tightly-packed market with a fish
monger, butcher, taqueria--a bunch of smaller venders within one space.
It'll be unlike anything we've had here."

Current Fish & Oyster is located at 279 E. 300 South in Salt
Lake City. For more information, visit www.currentfishandoyster.com.

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